Labor Day

And labor I did! All weekend long. My husband and I took a road trip, with him driving, so I had alot of car-knitting time. Then I had alot of sitting-around time, and sitting-around-chatting time, and I knitted during those, too. I knit in the car on the way to the mall and restaurants. I just knit alot.

In fact, in the last week, I completed 6 items, 5 of which were started that week, too (the last was the duckling from the last post, which sat for over a year before I finished it!). They're small items, true, but still.

What did I make, you may ask. Well, remember these socks?



I made mittens to match:



I made them up as I went along, loosely following sizing directions from Adorable Knits for Tots. I really freakin hope they actually fit. They should, given how big they are in my hand, but I'm a bit concerned. Please excuse their unblocked state. See that row of loose stitches? I'd really like to fix that up.

Also, is this considered my own pattern? Like, should I write it up? Or is it too much of someone else's because of the cable and the simplicity of the mittens? I guess the cable is pretty much public domain at this point. I don't entertain thoughts of making money off this pattern, but I do need pattern-writing experience and creds, y'know?

Anyway, after making the mitts, I also wanted to make a matching hat. So I did:



Here it is, modelled by a ball of yarn for lack of a little head. By this point, my hands couldn't take any more size 0 needles, so I went up to a whopping size 2. And they felt so luxuriously huge and easy to use!

I made the hat up, as much as one can make up a hat (write up pattern?). It might be a bit shallow, but the ribbing is pretty adjustable.

I think the hat looks nifty from the top.



The socks, hat, and mittens are all in Knitpicks Palette, and are intended for Niece #2.

And because you can't leave the momma presentless, here are some nice, warm house socks for her:



These are just shortened Thujas. Seriously, these were the fastest socks ever. They're just a touch big, but they're not meant to be worn in shoes, but rather go over other socks.

I used Knitpicks new Swish superwash yarn for these, and I am very impressed with it. I thought the pair of socks would use 3 skeins of yarn, but it used less than two. Granted, these are only ankle-length, but I wear size 9 shoes, so they're not teeny. Then, this yarn is so very, very soft. It doesn't feel like superwash wool at all! It actually feels alot like Mainline -- soft and cottony -- but is also wonderfully elastic and easy to knit with. Plus it's not splitty at all. I used size 3 needles with it easily. In other words: LOVE. Which is good, because I have 2 more pairs of socks to make out of it, plus a baby sweater. (On the bright side, I'll probably have enough yarn left over to make myself a pair of house socks, too!)

On the needles now is the Trellis (half a sleeve and assembly remaining). I would like to make 2 more toys and a hat for my older niece before sending off the package early next week, and I think I'll be able to.

Finally: I am so, so sorry for how remiss I've been at keeping up with y'all's blogs! I haven't forgotten anyone, I promise, I just have been so scatter-brained.